Automatic nailing machine



June I l, 1965 c. WEEMS 3,186,616

AUTOMATIC NAILING MACHINE Filed Dec. 14, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 FlG.l.

INVENTOR. C LY 0 E w z E M s BYM9W A TTORNEYS June 1, 1965 c. WEEMS 3,1

AUTOMATIC NAILING MACHINE Filed Dec. 14, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 CLYDE 7 g /A/ ///m% June v C. WEEMS AUTOMATIC NAILING MACHINE Filed Dec. 14, 1962 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 FlG;5 53

1 47 i-"- I 48 52 53 l5 54 47 L F|s.7. F|s.

INVENTOR. C LY D E W E E M? aw? fim w A TTORNEYS June 1, 1965 Filed Dec. 14, 1962 58 lull WEEMS 3,186,616

6 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG.8.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,186,616 AUTOMATIC NAILING MACHINE Clyde Weems, 982 Montgomery Court,

Thousand Oaks, Calif. Filed Dec. 14, 1962, Ser. No. 244,742 9 Claims. (Cl. 227-8) This invention relates to automatic nailing machines used in construction work and is particularly concerned with that type of nailing machine used to nail roof or floor pieces to underlying members so that the machine is generally operated in an upright position. Automatic nailing machines are well known in the art and are usually pneumatically operated by any convenient source of compressed air. Generally speaking, these machines include a pneumatic nail driving means, n-ail hopper, and some type of escapement mechanism for receiving nails from the hopper and positioning them under the nail driving means so that actuation of the nail driving means by the operator will enable pounding of the nail into the wood surface.

In many of the foregoing types of machines, the escapement mechanism has been made responsive to a previous nailing operation to position a nail in a ready position so that upon subsequent operation, the na l will be properly received and impacted. However, there is required of the operator a proper delaying his actuating the pneumatic means until the nail is positioned. In other words, most present day automatic nailing machines still require the operator to time the operation of the nail driving means to insure that a nail has been properly positioned preparatory to driving before he actually operates the pneumatic system. Further, the driving of a single nail itself requires several impacts by the nail driving means so that a given time is required during which the operator must maintain the operation of the pneumatic system.

Most of the above types of machines also include means for automatically shaking the hopper whenever a nail is driven. However, for proper distribution of the nails, it is not at all necessary that the hopper be shaken each time a nail is driven but rather only at arbitrary intervals depending upon the distribution of the nails in the hopper.

In addition to the foregoing characteristics of present day nailing machines, there is also provided a stirrup structure for receiving a persons foot to aid him in lifting the machine and positioning the same preparatory to a nailing operation. Thus, the user may actually walk the machine along the work with one foot in the stirrup. However, the provision of such a stirrup itself adds weight to the overall mechanism. Further, a certain degree of skill must be exercised insofar as foot movement is concerned to properly position the nose of the nailing machine.

With all of the foregoing considerations in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved automatic nailing machine in which the foregoing characteristics of present day nailing machines are obviated.

More particularly, it is an object to provide an improved automatic type of operation wherein the nail driving mechanism is rendered automatically responsive to the nail positioning portion of the machine to the end that the operator himself need not be concerned with timing the operation of pneumatic means. Further, only a single impact on the nail is required to drive the same. As a consequence, more rapid nailing can take place with considerably less possibility of any jamming of the machine.

Another important object is to provide a nailing machine including independently operable means for the nail hopper to the end that the user may arbitrarily shake the hopper whenever such shaking is necessary.

Another important object is to provide a nailing machine whi-ch is considerably lighter and easier to position as compared to present day nailing machines.

Still another object is to provide an improved automatic nailing machine in which a foot stirrup is unnecessary.

Briefly, these and many other objects and advantages of this invention are attained by providing a main body structure including a nail receiving means preferably in the form of a movable nose piece movably mounted to the lower end of the body. The body itself includes dual handles extending upwardly from either side of the body to facilitate holding the body in a proper position over a desired point into which a nail is to be driven.

In accordance with essential features of the invention, the nose piece on the body is movable between a first extended position to a second retracted position. Incorporated within the nose piece is a na l driving pin in turn arranged to be moved by suitable power means incorporated within the body. Mounted to the body is an escapement mechanism positioned to successively pass nails automatically upon movement of the nose piece and position them preparatory to being struck by the nail driving pin. Also provided is a hopper for holding nails and suitable guide track means connecting the hopper to the escapement mechanism.

The arrangement is such that movement of the nose piece from its first extended position towards its second retracted position automatically operates the escapement mechanism to enable a nail to be positioned within the nose piece preparatory to being impacted by the nail driving pin. Further movement of the nose piece from its first towards its second position beyond a given distance also serves to actuate automatically suitable actuating means for the power system to drive the driving pin. Thus, the driving pin is caused to drive the nail with a single stroke immediately after the nail has been properly positioned in the nose piece in an entirely automatic manner.

A suitable handle control is provided so that a safety feature is realized. This handle control operates a safety catch which will prevent retraction of the nose piece from its first to its second position and thus prevent operation of the pneumatic driving means within the body. The other handle also includes a control means to shake the hopper. The hopper may thus be operated independently of other structure and at arbitrary times as the occasion demands.

A better understanding of the foregoing as well as many further features and advantages of this invention will be had by now referring to a preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational View of the automatic nailing machine of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view looking generally in the direction of the arrow 2 of FIGURE 1;

7 FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view partly in cross section of the main body portion illustrating a pneumatic means for operating the nailing machine with the various components in a first position prior to driving a nail;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 illustrating the relative position of components immediately after a nail has been driven;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged perspective fragmentary view illustrating an escapement mechanism used with the nailing machine with the various components in a first position;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 illustrating n it ment mechanism;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the basic elements employed in the escapement mechanism of FIGURES and 6;

r FIGURE 8 is an enlarged view partly in cross section,

illustrating the manner in which the escapement mechanism cooperates with the nail driving means, the escapement mechanism appearing when viewed generally in the direction of the arrows 8-3 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 9 is a view similar to FIGURE 8 but show ing the components in a subsequent position with thees As shown, these handle bars terminate in handle grips including controls 13 and 14 which may be operated by a person while the machine is held in a vertical position. A nail hopper 15 is mounted to the body 10. As will become clearer as the description proceeds, the control 13 is arranged to operate a shaker means for the nail hopper 15 and the control 14 serves as a safety catch release to enable the machine to be operated.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the nail hopper 15 is arranged to-feed nails by gravity down a nail guiding track 16 to an escapement mechanism 17. This escapement mechanism serves to pass the nails successively to a nose piece 18 movably mounted to the lower end of the body 10. This nose piece is arranged to move from an extended first position to a retracted second position within the body It).

The body it incorporates suitable nail driving means which, in the embodiment chosen for illustrative purposes comprises a pneumatic system. Other power means such as an electric drive, however, could beused if desired. A source of compressed air is adapted to be fed in through the handle 11 by means of a connecting hose 19, the compressed air passing into the main body It at the coupling 20 for the handle.

- A suitable actuating means for the pneumatic structure within the main body 19 takes the form of a valve 21 positioned to be operated by movement of the nose piece 18 during its travel from its first extended position to its second retracted position.

-As shown best in FIGURE 2, this valve 21 is connected by a hose 22 to the upper portion of the main body 10 and serves-as a venting valve to vent compressed .air from the main body 10, all as will become clearer as the description proceeds.

Referring to both FIGURES 1 and 2, the main body 10 also serves to support a hopper control valve 23 connected to the manual trigger 13 through a flexible cable 24 on the handle 11 for operation by that control; As

shown, there is provided a hose 25 from the valve 23 to a hopper cylinder 26 constituting a shaking means for the hopper. The arrangement is such that by operating the trigger 13 on the handle 11, compressed air will be passed to the hopper cylinder 26 to cause an up and down or shaking movement of the hopper 15 and thus channel nails therefrom into the guide track 16 shown in FIG- URE, l. A series of such nails are illustratedat 27 as passing towards the escapement mechanism 17.

Thus, in the overall general operation of the structure as thus far described, an operator will first position the machine over Work to be nailed and then release the nose piece 18 so that it may move from its first to its second retracted position. This release is efiected by operating the lever 14 onthe handle 12 to release the safety catch. The weight of the machine will then result in the nose piece 18 tending to telescope in the body 10 so as to move from its first extended to its secondretracted position. This movement serves to actuate the escapement mechanism 17 through a suitable. operating means as will be described subsequently so that a nail is properly positioned preparatory'to being received in the nose piece for impact by thedriving mechanism within the body iii. This retracting movement of the nose piece 18 also serves to actuate the pneumatic means within the main body 10 after the nail has been positioned beneath the driving means. This latter operation is initiated by the valve 21 being engaged by a small engagement member 21' operated by a push rod 21" engaged by the nose piece. Thus, the valve 21 is only actuated after the nose piece has travelled a given distance so that a delay is introduced. There is thus assured ample time for'the nail to drop into the nose piece into a position tobe struck by the driving pin within the mainbody 1t). a

The foregoing is a most important feature of applicants invention inthat it enables a very rapid nailing operation to take place Without any thought on the part of the operator. In other'words, the operation of the pneumatic driving means is efiected entirely automatically in response to movement of the nose piece so that the nail is driven immediately after proper positioning within the nose piece. controlled by the given distance through which the nose piece 18,moves priorto operation of the valve 21.

Referringnow to FIGURES 3 and 4, the manner in which the driving means, in the form of a pneumatic system, is operated upon actuation of the valve 21 will be clearer. As shown, the main body 10 includes a cap structure 28 having an orifice 29 connecting with the hose 22 passing from the valve 21. Within this cap structure, there is defined an upper chamber 30 in communication with the hose 22. 'The .floor of the chamber 30 is defined by a poppet valve 31 having a valve stem portion 32, operable within an upper chamber 33 on the cap 28. The upper chamber 33 includes air vent ports 34 to the atmosphere.

The'va-lve seating surface portion for the poppet valve 31 constitutes the upper end of an inner cylinder 35. Within the inner cylinder is provided-a piston rod 3.6 terminating at its upper end in a first enlarged piston 37 andat its lower end in a second piston 38 operable Within a restricted diameter portion 35' of the cylinder 35. Rigidly secured to the lower end ofthepiston 33 is a plunger 39 terminating in a nail driving pin 40.

With the foregoing structure, there is defined an annular chamber 41' between the, outer wall of the inner cylinder 35 and the main wall ofthe body 10. This annular chamber 41 is in communication with the upper chamber 30 on the other side of the poppet valve 31 throughasmall'air bleed orifice .42 formed in the poppet valve '31. This chamber isalso in communication with tion shown.

As shown at the lower left portion of FIGURE 3, the handle 11 communicates with the annular chamber 41 to. provide compressed airfrom the hose 19 of FIGURE 1. This compressed .air is'continuously supplied to the annular space 41 and will essentially serve to hold the components in their position as, illustrated in FIGURE 3 solong as chamberSG is not vented through the hose 22.

This latter conditionwill obtain as long as the valve 21 remains closed. The valve-21 will remain closed when not engaged by the engaging member 21' so that when the nose piece 18 is in its first extendedposition, the valve '21 is closed and the chamber 36 assumes the same air pressure as in the annular chamber 41.

As stated, this timing is automatically Since the upper portion of the poppet valve 31 has a greater area for pressure to act upon than the lower portion, it will remain seated on the upper end of the inner cylinder wall 35. This seating is further insured by the spring 43. Also, since the under side of the upper piston 37 is of greater area than the top side of the lower piston 38, the pressure passed through the openings 35" within the cylindrical walls 35 will act upwardly to hold the piston rod 36 and pistons 37, 38, plunger 39, and driving pin 40 in their upward position against the poppet valve 31 as shown in FIGURE 3 to close off the passage 44.

If now the body is positioned so that the nose piece 18 engages a work surface and the safety mechanism in the form of the small lever 14 on the handle 12 is operated to release the nose piece, inward telescoping movement of the nose piece between its first and second positions will, after a given distance has been traversed, cause the engaging portion 21' on the push rod 21" to engage the valve 21 and open this valve. The air pressure within the chamber will then immediately be vented to atmosphere through the hose 22. The pressure beneath the poppet valve member 31 in the annular chamber portion 41 will then lift the poppet valve from the position illustrated in FIGURE 3 to the position illustrated in FIG- URE 4. While it is true that the air pressure in the annular chamber 41 will tend to equalize with the air pressure in the chamber 30 through the bleed orifice 42, this orifice is sufficiently small that the pressures will not equalize immediately so that the poppet valve will be lifted as shown in FIGURE 4 compressing the spring 43. The internal passage 44 in the poppet valve will be blocked off by the O-ring 45 engaging the top of the cap structure 28 so that communiaction between the passage 44 and the air vents 34 is closed.

With the poppet 31 in the position illustrated in FIG- URE 4, the full compressed air pressure will act upon the upper piston head 37 and thus the piston rod and head will be urged downwardly to lower the driving pin 40 and plunger 39.

With specific reference to the lower portions of FIG- URES 3 and 4, it will be noted that the driving pin 40 will first enter the nose piece 18 and after traveling downwardly a given distance, the plunger 39 will engage the upper end portion of the nose piece and then actually telescope the nose piece outwardly towards its first position shown in FIGURE 3. This latter action will then result in the push rod 21" and engaging portion 21' dropping to disengage the valve 21 to permit it to close. When the valve 21 closes, pressure in the chamber 30 can then build up since the outlet through hose 22 is cut off. This build up in pressure takes place through the orifice 42 and is relatively gradual. However, as the pressure builds up, the poppet valve 31 will tend to move downwardly towards the position illustrated in FIGURE 3 thereby opening up the air vents 34 at the upper portion of the cap 28. The compressed air in the annular space 41 and also within the cylindrical walls 35 will pass through the internal passage 44 out the air vents 34 to permit the valve 31 to seat relatively rapidly. After the poppet valve 31 has seated on the cylindrical walls 35, the air pressure in the annular space 41 will pass through the passages 35" under the larger piston head 37 and raise the piston back tothe position illustrated in FIG- URE 3. This raising will continue, the air within the cylindrical area 35 escaping through the passage 44 after the valve 31 has been seated until the top of the piston 37 engages the under side of the poppet valve 31. All of the elements are then in their position as illustrated in FIGURE 3. The next downward power stroke of the driving nail means will not occur until the valve 21 is movement of the nose piece between its extended first position towards its retracted second position automatically operates the nail driving pin after the nose piece has traversed a given distance. This given distance results in a time delay sufiicient for the escapement mechanism to position the next nail preparatory to being received in the nose piece as will now become evident by referring to FIGURES 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Thus, referring first to the enlarged view of FIGURE 5, the position of the components making up the escapement mechanism corresponds to that when the nose piece 18 is in its first or extended position. The escapement mechanism includes an entrance frame structure 46 connecting with the track 16 for the various nails 27. Transversely mounted for rotation in the entrance frame 46 in an escapement cylinder 47. In front of the escapement cylinder 47, in turn, is mounted a retractable indexing pin 48 normally biased by spring means in frame 46 (not shown) to the right or in an out of the way position. The pin 48 is arranged upon urging to the left to extend transversely across the entrance frame 46 in front of the cylinder 47.

Actuation of the pin 48 as well as rotation of the cylinder 47 is achieved by a block 49 rigidly connected to cylinder 47 having a cam surface 50 arranged to cam against the right hand end of the pin 48 when rotated in a clockwise direction viewed from the right. This rotation of the block about an axis coinciding'with the axis of the cylinder 47 is achieved by bifurcated structure 51 cooperating with a slide pin 52 rigidly extending from the back end of the block 49. Thus, lifting of the forked member 51 will tend to rotate the block 43 to effect the camming action of the indexing pin across the entrance frame and simultaneously effect rotation of the cylinder 47 through approximately a quarter turn. This upward movement of the forked structure 51 is achieved by connecting vertical bar 53, the lower end of which is arranged to be engaged by the nose piece 18 as it moves upwardly.

FIGURE 6 illustrates the position of the elements when the nose piece has moved to its retracted or second position wherein the rod 53 has been urged upwardly to rotate the block 49 to the position shown. In this position, it will be evident that the indexingpin 48 now extends transversely across the entrance frame to hold the next successive nail, the first nail having been dropped in a cutout 54 formed in the cylinder 47 With particular reference to FIGURE 7, this cutout 54 is dimensioned to be large in one sidewall and to decrease to a narrow slot portion 55 in a diametrically opposite sidewall. There are thus defined shoulders arranged to engage beneath the head of the nail. The rotation of the cylinder 47 through a quarter turn will thus drop a nail received within the cutout 54 into the lower portion of the entrance frame.

The foregoing sequence of operations and the manner in which the same position nails successively in the nose piece for impact by the driving pin will be better understood by now referring to FIGURES 8 and 9.

Referring first to FIGURE 8, it will be noted that the escapement structure below the cylinder 47 defines a nail chute 56. This chute terminates at the nose piece 18 but is arranged to register with an elongated slot 57 including an-enlarged eye portion 57 adjacent its upper end when the nose piece means moves upwardly towards its second position. This slot is formed in one side of the nose piece 18 and serves as an entrance way for a nail such as the nail 27a when the nose piece 13 is retracted sutficiently to bring the eye into registration with the end of the chute 56.

With reference to FIGURE 9, for example, the nose piece is shownretracted to an extent that the nail 27:: formerly resting against the portion of the nose piece above the eye 57 is now received within the internal portion of the nose piece. In this position, the nail is properly oriented for impact by the driving pin 40. As mentioned in the previous description of the pneumatic means for the driving pin '40, the upward retracting movement of the nose piece serves to open the valve 21 and thus start the sequence of events which causes the driving pin 41) to descend downwardly and strike the head of the nail. pin is cushioned by a rubber washer d3.

It should be noted in FIGURE 9 that the upward movement of the nose piece from the position illustrated in FIGURE 8 to the position illustrated in FIGURE 9 has raised the bar 53 described in conjunction with FIGURES and 6, thereby rotating the cylinder 47 from its position illustrated in FIGURE8 to its position illustrated in FIGURES preparatory to receiving another nail such as the nail 27b shown positioned in" the cylinder 47 in FIGURE 9. It should also be noted in FIGURE 9 that the indexing pin 48 is in a position to block the next successive nail 27c.

After the nail 27a has been driven by a single blow from the driving element 44?, the nose piece also being driven downwardly by the plunger 39, the recoil 0f the driving means and reaction of the nose piece on the cushion 63 will result in initial raising of the entire body structure relative to the nose piece so that the nose piece returns towards its first position, thereby removingthe eye portion 57 from registration with the outlet of the chute 56 to assume the position shown in FIGURE. 8. This return movement of the nose piece is aided by the bar 53 which is biased downwardly against the I end flange of the nose piece bya spring 53. The connection of spring 53' is more clearly shown in the lower righthand portion of FIGURE 1. This same movement of the nose piece permitting bar 53 to dropwith its results in rotation of the escapement cylinder 4-7 in an opposite direction so that it will drop the nail 2712, that nail then assuming the position of the nail 27a in FIG- URE 8. Repetition ofthe sequence of events will then result in the next nail 27b being received in th nose piece preparatory to being struck by the driving pin 40,

InFIGURES 8 and 9, there is also illustrated the safety catch means operable by-the manual control 14 on the handle 12. This safety catch mechanism includes a small cavity cutout 58 in the upper'left wall portion of the body normally receiving a latch 59 pivoted at 60. The latch 59 is positioned to engage the top end of the nose piece by a spring 61 so that in the position shown in FIGURE 8, the nose piece 18 is held in a partially extended position and cannot reciprocate with respect to the remaining portion of the structure.

As shown in FIGURE 8, a rod 62 extends upwardly from the end of the latch 59. This rod connects to a flexible cable actuated by the manual control 14 on the handle 12 described in FIGURE 1 so that move ment of this control will raise the rod 62 to swing the latch 59 about the pivot 6.0. This motion-will then cause the latch 59 to assume the position shown in FIG- URE 9 wherein the nose piece 18 is free to retract within the body portion.

The foregoing described safety catch mechanism is Complete retraction of the nose' this hopper be shaken at arbitrary intervals in order that the nails will be properly distributed within the hopper for reception on the track 16. To provide this shaking action, there is'p rovided a bias spring 64 normally biasing the hopper 15, to an upward sloping'position as illustrated in solid lines. The hopper itself is rotatably mounted to a shaft 65 coupled to the body 10. The cylinder 26 is fed with compressed air from the line when the valve 24 is operated by the control 13 on the handle at 11 as described in FIGURES 1 and 2. This cylinder includes a piston rod 66 extending from the upper end of the cylinder and connected through a link 67 to the hopper 15 as at pivot point 68. This piston rod 66 carries a pair of pistons'69 and 7 0 and includes an internal passage 71 extending from an upper end at atmosphere downwardly to open out between the pistons 69and 70. g

As shown in FIGURE 10, the pistons 69 and 70 include an elongated double-headed valve '72 passing through piston openings 73 and '74 and of greater length than the distance between the outer walls of the pistons so that when in a down position communication will be provided through opening 74 in the lower piston 70 from the lower end of the cylinder 26 to the passage 71 and when in an up position, the opening 74 in the piston 70 v will be closed off and the opening 73 in the piston 6% so that it has a dash pot like action in returning from a position in which the opening 74 in the lower piston 70 is closed to the solid line position shown in FIG- U E 0-.

In operation, the piston heads will normally assume the position illustrated in FIGURE 10 and the hopper 15 will be held upwardly by the spring 64. When the valve 24-passingcompressedair to the supply line 25 is actuated by the operator, this compressed air will lower the piston '65 and rod 66 until the bottom head of the valve stem 72 engages the bottom of the cylinder urging the valve stem upwardly. The hopper is thus pulled downwardly to its dotted line position. Atthis point, the compressed air' will pass through the upper opening 73 in the piston 69 and through the passage 71 to atmosphere. With the pressure so relieved, the spring 64 can then return the hopper to the full line position. The air can continue'to escape from the upper portion of the cylinder 1 since the valve stem72 does not reseat immediately as described as a consequence of the use of the friction spring 75; Asa consequence of the foregoing, a rapid single shake is provided each time a burst of compressed air is provided through the line 25 to the upper portion of the cylinder 26. 'This'shaking is sufiicient to provide 7 the desired distribution of nails within the hopper so desirable in that it will hold the nose piece in locked out entirely automatically since the movement of the nose piece itself serves to actuate the'various other essential components such as the escapement mechanism and the pneumatic system.

Referring now to FIGURE 10, there is illustrated the shaking means for the hopper 15 described in connection with FIGURES 1 and 2. Asstated, it is desirable: that that they will feed .out the various tracks to the main track 16. a g

The operation of the overall machine will be evident fromthe foregoing description With reference particularly to FIGURESS, 4, 8, and-9, the initial position of the elements before operation of the nailing machine are clearly shown inFIGURES 3 and 8. In these positions, it will be noted that the nose piece 18 is'extended to its first position and held in this position by the safety catch lever59. 'Also, it will be evident that when in this extendedposition the valve 21 is normally closed since the engaging portionZl' on the end of the push rod 21 is out of engagement therewith. Thus, the piston heads and poppet valve in the body 11 assume the positions illustrated in FIGURES. Asstated; compressed air is continuously supplied. to the main body portion 10 throughthe hose 19 and handle structure 11. Thus, once the machine is to be used,- theucompressed air'may be turned on at its source to continuously supply air into the cylinder 10.

The hopper 15 is filled with nails, and they will travel downwardly by shakingaction of the hopper 15 by means of the control 13 on the handle 11, the source of air supplied to the main body also being used by means of the valve 24 shown in FIGURE 2 to drive the pistons in the cylinder 26. Thus, the nails travel down the track 16 by gravity to be received in the escapement mech anism. The first nail will fall against the cylinder 47 since the indexing pin 48 is retracted in the position shown in FIGURE 8, but by reciprocating the nose piece 18 back and forth, a nail will assume the position illustrated at 27a in FIGURE 8. Thus, it is necessary to operate the apparatus by releasing the safety catch 59 once in order to have the first nail 27a in the position illustrated in FIGURE 8 with its head resting against the sidewall of the nose piece 18.

The operator will now position the nose piece directly over a work into which a nail is to be driven. The operator need then only release the safety catch by manually operating the control lever 14. The weight of the entire body 10 will then cause a telescoping of the body over the nose piece. or a relative movement of the nose piece from its first extended position towards its second retracted position. As this motion takes place, as heretofore described in FIGURES 8 and 9, the eye 57 in the nose piece will come into registration with the outlet of the chute 56 so that the nail 27a will immediately fall into the position illustrated in FIGURE 9. After the nail has fallen into this position, the nose piece has travelled a sufficient distance upwardly so that the valve engaging portion 21' engages the valve 21 and thus vents the air in the upper chamber 3%) shown in FIGURE 3 of the body 10. With the air vented in the chamber 30, the poppet valve will be raised, and the various pneumatic operations described in conjunction with FIGURES 3' portion of the work surrounding the nail and thus insure that the wood is down solid against the member to which it is being nailed. The rubber cushions 38' on the end of the lower piston head 38 engage the bottom of the body 10 as illustrated in FIGURE 4 and this results in a slight recoil of the driving pin along with. the pistons upwardly within the inner cylinder 35. Also, the spring 53 urging the bar 53 against the end of the nose piece to return it towards its extended position will result in the rod 21" dropping so that the valve 21 will be disengaged and air pressure can build up in the chamber 34 to return the piston structure as described in conjunction with FIGURES 3 and 4 to its initial position.

As also described heretofore in connection with FIG- URES 8 and 9, the initial retracting movement of the nose piece operates the escapement mechanism so that the next nail 27b will fall into the cylinder 4-7 to the position illustrated in FIGURE 9. Thence, when the nose piece is extended again by the bias spring 53 and bar 53 after the nail has been pounded into the work, the escapement cylinder 47 will be rotated a quarter of a turn to drop the nail 27b held therein so that it will occupy the position formerly occupied by the nail 27a. Nail 276 will then rest against the cylinder 47 in the position formerly occupied by nail 27 b and the indexing pin will be extended to catch the nail 27d which will assume the position formerly assumed by 27c. At this point, the nose piece has become fully extended so that the eye 57 is out of regis- 1Q tration with the end of the chute 56 and the head of the nail will thus simply rest against the nose piece in a posi tion ready for dropping into the nose piece when the cycle of events is repeated.

The extension of the nose piece back towards its first position will also bring its upper end juxtaposed the small cavity 58 so that the safety catch 59, which is biased into the cavity by the spring 61, will lock the nose piece in its extended position. Thus, after initially releasing the nose piece, the operator can release his hold on the safety catch control and the nose piece will automatically lock itself in extended position after one cycle of operation during which a single nail has been driven. If a series of nails are to be driven, the operator would hold the safety catch in its released position and simply move the entire nailing machine over to the successive locations, the weight of the machine each time it is positioned starting the retraction of the nose piece so that the cycle of events described will automatically repeat without any further attention on the part of the operator.

If the nails in the hopper do not appear to be distributing properly in the track, at such times, the operator need only give the hopper a single shake by operating the hopper shaker cylinder as described.

From the foregoing description, it will be evident that the present invention has provided a greatly improved nailing machine in which all of the various objects heretofore set forth have been realized. While a particular embodiment has been described, it is clear that certain features thereof may be modified without departing from the overall scope and spirit of the invention. The automatic nailing machine is therefore not to be thought of as limited to the specific embodiment and described merely for illustrative purposes.

What is claimed is:

1. An automatic nailing machine comprising, in combination: nail driving means; nail receiving means movably mounted to said nail driving means; an escapement mechanism responsive to movement of said nail receiving means relative to said nail driving means for passing a single nail to said nail receiving means; and actuating means responsive to said movement beyond a given distance for actuating said nail driving means; said nail driving means including a driving pin and pneumatic means for driving said driving pin upon actuation, said machine including a hopper for carrying said nails; track means to guide the nails from said hopper to said escapement mechanism; and shaker means for said hopper responsive to manual triggering for shaking said hopper independently of movement of said nail receiving means.

2. An automatic nailing machine comprising, in combination: a main body; a nose piece mounted to said body for movement between an extended first position to a ret-racted second position; nail driving means within said body and adapted upon actuation to drive a nail positioned in said nose piece; nail holding means mounted on said body; an escapement mechanism mounted on said body adjacent to said nose piece for successively receiving nails from said nail holding means and responsive to movement of said nose piece from said first to said second position to position a single nail within said nose piece preparatory to being driven by said nail driving means; and actuating means responsive to said movement of said nose piece beyond a given distance for actuating said nail driving means, whereby said single nail is driven from the end of said nose piece.

3. A machine according to claim 2, including handle means secured to said body; a safety catch means normally locking said nose piece in its first position; and releasing means on said handle means for releasing said safety catch means when it is desired to drive a nail.

4. A machine according to claim 2, in which said driving means comprises a driving pin for engaging the head of a nail; and pneumatic means for moving said driving it i pin, said actuating, means comprising valve means for actuating'said pneumatic means. i

5. An automatic nailing machine comprising, in combination: a main body; handle means secured to said body; a nose piece movable from a first position projecting from the lower end of said body to a second position telescoped within said body; a nail driving, pin movable within said nose piece for driving a nail positioned in said nose piece; pneumatic means in said body adapted upon actuation to move said driving pin; a nail hopper movably mounted to the exterior of said body; an 'escapement mechanism mounted to said body adjacent to said nose piece;.trac k means for channeling nailsvin said hopper to said escapement, mechanism; operating means for said escapement mechanism responsive to movement of said nose piece from said first to said second position for positioning a driven by said driving pin; and; valve means responsive to said. movement of said nose piece beyond a given distance for actuating said pneumatic means whereby said single nailis driven from the end of said nose. piece by saiddriving pin in proper timed relationship to its positioning in said nose piece. by said escapement mechanism.

6. A machine according to claim 5, in which said escape.- ment mechanism includes: an entrance frame for successively receiving-nailsjfrom said track means; a cylinder rotatably mounted in said frame with its axis transverse to .single nail within said nose piece preparatory to being a the direction of travel of said nails said cylinder including i a cutout portion in its sidewall, said cutout portion having an enlarged entrance atone sidewall surface terminating in a smaller slot portion opening out the diametrically opposite sidewall'sur face to define shoulders for engaging under the head of a nail when ,a nail is received therein, rotation of said cylinder through a quarter turn dropping a nail received therein into the lower portion of said entrance frame; an indexing pin movably supported in said entrance frame in front of said cylinder and adapted upon move-v i tory to being received in saidrcutout portion, said operating 7 means including a block having a camrning surface jux-taposed said indexing pin, said block being secured to one end of said cylinder so that rotation of said block rotates said cylinder and simultaneously cams said indexing pin in said one direction across said entranceframe; and a bar coupled at its upper end to said block to rotate'said block upon upward movement, the lower end of said bar being positioned for engagement by said nose piece so that movement of said nose piece from said first to said second position imparts an upward movement to said bar.

7; A machine according to claim 5, including plunger means secured to the upper end of said driving pin and dimensioned to engage said nose piece after said driving pin has engaged said nail to move said nose piece towards its projecting position whereby the area of a wood surface surrounding-the one end to which said nail is driven is means 'for passing compressed air tosaid'pneumatic means, said shaking means including an air. cylinder; a conduit connectingsaid cylinder to said inlet means; a normally closed valve in said conduit; and-1a piston means in said cylinder coupled to said nail hopper, said trigger means opening said valve to pass compressed air from said inlet means to said cylinder to move said piston means and shake said hopper.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,542,586 .6/25 Rubin et al. 144.4 2,799,858 7/57 Bacon et a1. Q. 1-44. 1 2,819,465 1/58 Mcllvin, 16 2,845,625 ,8/58 Appell, n 16 2,928,095 3/60 Sower 1--44.4 2,943,328 7/60 Carpenter et al i 144.4 3,027,560 4/ 62 Nelson 1-10-7 3,106,136 10/63 Langas 144.4 XR 3,107,355 '10/ 63 Swanson 1 -444 XR,

GRANVILLEY. C-USTER, JR., Primary Examiner. 

1. AN AUTOMATIC NAILING MACHINE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: NAIL DRIVING MEANS; NAIL RECEIVING MEANS MOVABLY MOUNTED TO SAID NAIL DRIVING MEANS; AN ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM RESPONSIVE TO MOVEMENT OF SAID NAIL RECEIVING MEANS RELATIVE TO SAID NAIL DRIVING MEANS FOR PASSING A SINGLE NAIL TO SAID NAIL RECEIVING MEANS; AND ACTUATING MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID MOVEMENT BEYOND A GIVEN DISTANCE FOR ACTUATING SAID NAIL DRIVING MEANS; SAID NAIL DRIVING MEANS INCLUDING A DRIVING PIN AND PNEUMATIC MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID DRIVING PIN UPON ACTUATION, SAID MACHINE INCLUDING A HOPPER FOR CARRYING SAID NAILS; TRACK MEANS TO GUIDE THE NAILS FROM SAID HOPPER TO SAID ESCAPEMENT MECHANISM; AND SHAKER MEANS FOR SAID HOPPER RESPONSIVE TO MANUAL TRIGGERING FOR SHAKING SAID HOPPER INDEPENDENTLY OF MOVEMENT OF SAID NAIL RECEIVING MEANS. 